Health Resources

WHY FUNCTIONAL MEDICINE IS GREAT FOR MILLENNIALS

Millennials are taking over. Don’t be alarmed. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, it’s just the facts. In 2016, it was announced that the millennial population surpassed the Baby Boomer generation as the largest generation in the United States with upwards of 75 million millennials, as reported by the U.S. Census Bureau. That number has now crept up near 85 million, which means those aged between 18 and 34 are the dominant demographic in our population.

What does this mean for the state of our healthcare in Kansas? More specifically, what does this mean for functional medicine? Well, it turns out millennials and functional medicine solutions are a perfect match. It’s well documented that millennials are some of the most health-conscious people in the world, with fitness and healthy eating high on their priorities. From capturing Instagram pictures of their green foods to contributing to the boom in new-age fitness and exercise classes and gyms, millennials are valuing health and wellness more and more. In fact, a Yahoo Health study released in 2015 identified several health and wellness-related insights when it came to millennials. That study indicated that millennials are more likely to:

Value their health: In the study, it was said that 53 percent of millennials said health and wellness was important in their lives, more than friends (39 percent), spirituality (31 percent), and work/career (27 percent).

Exercise: Around 84 percent answered that they work out at least once per week, and nearly half indicated that exercise was a passion of theirs. Millennials are also more likely to participate in health activities like yoga, meditation, and natural treatment therapies.

Share: Millennials tend to consume health information from the Web, including social media, holistic wellness sites, and other health sites. Among 35 percent of millennials then share that news with others through texting and social media.

So, how does this relate to functional medicine? We’re glad you asked.

Functional Medicine For Millennials

If there’s one truth about millennials, it’s that they’re the generation of instant gratification. From watching TV to meal preparation, they want to be taken care of quickly. Studies show that millennials also want their healthcare to be delivered more efficiently and rapidly. That means, due to long wait times, a lack of convenience, a fear of bad news, and non-personalized care, they’re less likely than the older generations to visit a primary health physician for their medical needs.

Furthermore, millennials most often take a broader approach to their long-term health. While older generations have relied on regular exams from primary, traditional medicine doctors in order to keep a pulse on their overall health, millennials are more likely to focus more on short-term, daily maintenance and holistic solutions that will impact their health in the long-term.

Enter functional medicine. Though millennials are more active and health-conscious, helping them avoid many of the acute medical problems that may stem from less health-minded individuals, they still deal with chronic health problems.

Functional medicine offers these holistic solutions by asking why a patient is suffering to discover long-term relief through natural solutions and scientific principles. This type of approach eliminates the need for drugs, surgery, or other methods which can inhibit an individual’s ability to think clearly and remain in optimal shape both mentally and physically.

Of course, functional medicine can’t replace the traditional medicine approach. It’s still necessary to visit a primary care doctor for modern medicine solutions for things like accidents, broken bones, or emergencies. However, functional medicine offers a safe, natural alternative to supplement the gap in modern healthcare. It searches for and discovers the underlying causes, and identifies solutions to, diseases and conditions which traditional approaches can’t without resorting to prescription medications that may just cover up the symptoms. Much like yoga, functional medicine is all about the restoration of balance to the body. If millennials and functional medicine isn’t a match made in the stars, we’re not sure what is.

How We Can Help

At LifeWorks Integrative Health in Shawnee and Overland Park, we’re committed to applying practical functional medicine solutions to patients of all ages. We want to get your body back to functioning as optimally as it can so that you can thrive. Imbalances and diseases can hinder that programming, which is why we can’t wait to get started on helping you. Our functional medicine approaches might be able to assist with conditions like:

LifeWorks Integrative Health serves multiple locations in the Kansas City area, including in Shawnee and Overland Park, and features a diverse medical team who are experienced in getting root cause-based results. We work fast, hard, and with you to manage your health and wellness in a natural way that can fit your budget and lifestyle – millennial or otherwise. Give us a call today to learn how we can help.